Hello!

50 Comments

Let me paint you a picture.

You’ve come home from a hard day at work. It’s late and you’re tired. You ate lunch in front of your computer (no time for a sit down meal) and you can’t be bothered cooking a proper dinner.

So, you grab a bag of chips and a packet of chocolate biscuits – Your ‘go to’ comfort food – and collapse in front of the TV to watch the latest episode of Offspring.

You only meant to have ‘a few’ chips and ‘a couple’ of biscuits, but by the end of the show you realise you’ve not only demolished both packets, but you’ve also finished off two more. Sound familiar?

If so, you are not alone.  In our stressful, tech-saturated world full of iPhones, laptops and many other distractions, its little wonder ‘Mindless Eating’ is rife.

By contrast, ‘Mindful Eating’ is all about being in tune with and listening to your body.

It involves being present in the moment and fully conscious in terms of what and how much you eat.

Here are my Top Three Mindful Eating Tips:

Use all Your Senses

Be present while eating.

Take three deep breaths, then (while eating slowly), pay attention to the smell, taste, sound, texture and look of the food you are eating.

What kind of hungry are you?
Before you grab that snack, take time to mentally check in. How hungry are you on a scale of one to ten? Ask yourself if you are indeed physically hungry, or if you are ‘eye hungry’ – That is, attracted to food because it looks nice, or ‘nose hungry’ – When you are responding to the smell of the food.

When you do eat, aim to finish when you are satisfied – Not stuffed or starving.

Be Attentive
I get it. You’ve got a lot on your plate (literally). But it’s important to make food a priority when you are eating and try not to multi task. So turn off the TV, move away from the computer and when you eat, just eat.

 I am a firm believer that how you do anything is how you do everything.

The moment you become more in tune with how you eat is the moment you will become more present in all other aspects of your life.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • This is a great article. I really don’t do this and I know that I should

    Reply

  • yes enjoy the treat instead of mindless munching

    Reply

  • This was an interesting mini article. Thanks for posting!

    Reply

  • I have a habit of eating in from of my computer……..

    Reply

  • I try and turn the TV off when eating so you can concentrate on what you are doing!

    Reply

  • Definitely something I’m trying to work at!

    Reply

  • Yoghurt is my weakness. However if I am doing something at the same time I eat a lot slower than I otherwise would and don’t feel hungry until much later than I otherwise would.

    Reply

  • Now that I’ve seen that picture I need to go eat a Mars Bar :(

    Reply

  • I know all this but in spite of that I do slip sometimes. It’s hard to always find time, so many times I ate my lunch at my desk, not really paying attention to my meal. I’ll need to try harder.

    Reply

  • I really need to tune into my mind and body.

    Reply

  • so true!

    Reply

  • I Re read this article ,yes it’s true we eat without realizing what our food is like eg crunchy ,salty & spices used .Knowcwonder we put on weight .Kitchen tables is the best place to eat !

    Reply

  • I am notorious for mindless eating! :(

    Reply

  • So often I find myself eating without thinking thank you for a great article

    Reply

  • Yes as I am reading this I am thinking of the chocolate biscuits in the fridge calling me.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join